Kluge Vacuum Question

Pure Guess, (nothing more) and only transcribed from Heidelberg Platen system.!
In the original system, apart from any obvious Push/Pull vacuum *Gate Valve* are there any NON obvious, EXTRA *T* style valves.? which may need, >capping off or isolating< to maintain the vacuum, further down the line.
Apologies and Good Luck.

Not exactly an afterthought, or even a *Eureka* moment, more a by-product, talking a Buddy through His problems with the Thompson Platen Pump, (very similar to the H/berg set up.!!)

THE thought, sort of, in Your original Kluge system, is there an overlooked, >Dump Valve< to drop the vacuum at the precise point in the cycle.? On H/berg,s & Thompson British Auto Platens, -that- valve sits on the base of the pump(s) occasionally incorporating a leather faced (as we call it) *Clack Valve*.
Anything similar, inadvertently, over looked, on the Kluge.

One more point, perhaps worthy of investigation, as the Pump,s (generally) are Double Ended in operation, i.e. Vacuum in one direction and Blast in the other, is there a Pressure Relief valve, out of sight,? that would normally work in conjunction with the Vacuum, dump valve, again generally there is a precise point, with the Push/Pull piston, on the pump, where the 2 have to swap sides, or *jump ship*
In the U.K. generally, (presumably Ditto Stateside) with Vintage Press,s running Auto delivery systems, blast & vacuum systems, normally require less than 15 P.S.I. and minimal Inches of Mercury (vacuum).
Vertical Meihle,s (in most cases) have built in Vacuum & Pressure gauges, with Tell Tale, reset-able needles, very useful for different stock requirements. -
V. M.s have separate Blast and Vacuum pumps, diaphragm and piston, in tandem, from a common counter-shaft, by implication, very precise control, over the range of output from the V.M.

If the above is rubbish, apologies, Good Luck, anyway, Mick.

Mick, I need to spend some time understanding that part of the system. I certainly don’t right now.

the kluge requires 2 separate and isolated vacuum systems. if you are trying to “Tee” one vacuum source to operate both feed and delivery, it won’t work very well, if at all. the press is made to go off impression if there is a vacuum leak, IE missed or, it dropped the sheet being fed. with a “Tee” the delivery system provides this leak. even though the Crankshaft pump, seems, to be a single pump, there are 2 distinct chambers. The pressure is combined for sheet separator.

Well, ain’t that a kick in the head?

The vacuum dashpot, that lifts the throw-off, located the operator side of the press, behind the flywheel, might be leaky, or the line to it. The throw-off assembly may need some cleaning and lubrication as well.
Dave

David, does ericm’s post mean that won’t fix this issue, though?

Ericm’s post means that you need to hookup your vacuum pump to the correct line coming from the piston pump. One pulls vacuum for the feeder, the other pulls vacuum for the delivery. depends which one you need more assistance on.

I was having the same problem you report and I removed the vacuum line to the dashpot, removed a buildup of fiber and oil and it immediately worked much better. If your only problem is tripping off the missed-sheet detector, I’d look for a leak or a clog. Other places to look are in the trip-lever assembly up in the feeder head. There’s a ball that sits down inside the vertical shaft that needs to seat, and you might have a buildup of gunk there. Be careful removing the top ball and housing because there’s a spring inside, and then rotate the trip lever clockwise to life the lower ball, and be sure to catch it when it comes out.
Do you have a vacuum gauge? My feeder side pulls 9 inches of vacuum, measured where these connects tot he sucker arm, and that seems to be plenty.